Existing hybrid power plants with fossil fuelled steam generators and solar collectors use concentrating solar receivers to convert solar radiation into thermal energy and either convert it directly into electrical energy or for the support of fossil fired power plants.
Collector fields with concentrating solar power plants, comprising solar collectors and receivers, need a lot of free space, which has to be plain and adjacent to the turbine of the steam power plant.
Conventional concentrating solar power plants have high initial investment costs for the solar collectors, the receiver and the high pressure piping. This investment is required for any size of the plant. Therefore a minimum size of the power plant is required to make the project financial viable.